177 Bleecker: A Spider-Gwen Adventure Feat Doctor Strange
by Do-Do-Not-No-Try
Summary: Gwen and Peter are living happily together in the Sanctum Sanctorum with their daughter. Then one night Gwen wakes up to some crazy dreams, ones she can't remember the next day. What could they mean? In short, Bad news for the world. In long, well, read the story and find out, eh? SpiderGwen, Doctor Strange, Dormmamu, Avengers
1. Prelude

Unspecified Place, Unspecified Time

The Sorcerer Supreme looks around, barely managing to stand up on his own. He is weak, having just fought a near omnipotent, multidimensional fire being. On his own. He thought he would have had help from his Avenging teammates, but unfortunately, said fire being gained control of one of his said teammates, and, under its control, she managed to utterly defeat the rest of the team. She fainted as soon as the Sorcerer defeated the fire being, as its control had expended all of the hero's energies. The Sorcerer knows that the world is saved nonetheless, and the people of his world will live on. Still, there are other issues to be dealt with, such as the problem of the superheroine who managed to take out an entire team of superheroes by herself. The Sorcerer knows from experience that once one is exposed to the control of the Fire Being known as Dormammu, it is nigh impossible to destroy that connection, which is something Dormammu always comes back to exploit. For he can only physically wreak havoc upon our dimension if someone summons him, and the easiest way to do that is to exploit a connection made while in this dimension before he is banished. Keeping her around would be dangerous for the future of all mankind. Thus, he has to do what he must. He walks up to the girl and summons a energy spear (for he can do that with his magic powers), raises his hand to strike, and...stops. He cannot do it. He only met this girl a year ago, and yet he knows that she has so much more for her life in store. _She's still just starting her life as an adult,_ he thinks to himself, _so much untapped potential._ He thinks of how she spoke of her recent engagement to her lover that morning. _Can I really just take her opportunities away from her for something that wasn't her fault?_ He stops and dissembles his energy spear. Still, he knows she cannot be let alone with this new power. Were Dormammu to exploit it, Armageddon would arrive swiftly after. He ponders what to do for a moment, the comes up with an idea. _I know,_ He thinks to himself, his genius beginning to flow, _I'll wipe their memories. The only people who know of the Avengers' defeat at the hands of one of their own are all right here. I must take special precaution with the young woman, though, as she's the one who has the power to destroy, albeit unknowingly. Curse Dormammu and his transdimensional abilities. Somehow, I must keep her under my supervision so I can insure that she doesn't summon the Fire Being. Ah. I know how...A simple fake memory or two will get the job done. Perfect for the fake memories I need to cover up what I erase. Maybe a few other tweaks will have the power to save us all..._

The girl, known to the public as Spider-Woman, known to her friends and family as Gwen Stacey-Parker, sleeps on, unaware of what falsehoods the Sorcerer places in her mind in the name of her wellbeing, as well as the universe's.


	2. Chapter 1

-Hello! This is my first really really fanfic, by which I mean actually writing my own story about characters in new situations (my last one was, in large part, a shot for shot remake of Spider-Gwen #1-5). So, it may be a little odd but hopefully still turns out cool!–

2 AM- 177 Bleecker St, 1st Floor's Master Bedroom

"WAHHHHHHH!" goes the baby radio on the nightstand next to my pillow. My eyes snap open, and suddenly I'm hanging off the ceiling in my pajamas. You'd think, after night and night again of doing this, I'd be used to that wail by now. _Spider-Sense, You come in handy, but calm down a little, please_? I'm in my huge room at mine and Peter's place….ish. It's on rent, but we tend to refer to it as home. It _is_ huge though. Tall enough one could web sling in, wide enough it takes me 5 minute to even reach the door, speedwalking (fortunately I can wall- or ceiling, in this case- crawl) There's hardly any decoration, but that's ok with me. All one really needs is a nice, comfortable place to hang her hood, and that's exactly what we have. Oh, sure, Peter will bring up how we left our residence at Avengers Tower every time I mention our room being too far from the baby or too drab or whatever, but I like it here. It's closer to Dad (since mom died, I've tried to take care of him as much as possible. He says he doesn't like it, but I know secretly he appreciates it), it's not in the limelight, and the Doctor (the Strange one, not the House or Who) is a friend of ours. And, of course, there's the whole problem of my falling out with the Avengers. We had a bit of a falling out about a year after I joined. I became disillusioned with the team members and how they went about their business. So I left. Strange took us in and asks the smallest amount of rent in the city, soooo….

I finally make it to the door of the guest room where the crying perp is laying down, still wailing. I was just here 2 hours ago, which means it SHOULD be Peter's turn to take care of Rachel, but he did have a long day at work, between picture taking for the Daily Bugle and taking care of Rachel while I'm off people saving. In fact, Peter does most of the baby care-age, since it's a fairly uncommon occurrence that I'm even at home for the evening. "You have such a caring father," I tell my daughter. "He's always there for you, isn't he? Not like your mother. She's always everywhere except with you…." I sigh and sit down, rocking Rachel to sleep so she (and I) can get some rest. As she calms down, I start falling asleep as well. _No, Gwen, stop it,_ I think to myself. _You fall asleep while holding Rachel and Peter will never let you forget it._ I shake myself awake try to memorize Rachel as I continue to rock her back and forth. She's a little one, just like both her parents were. She's only 18 months old; she's barely starting to walk. She has the most beautiful Hazel eyes and dark brown hairs just like Peter (no, I'm not upset that she doesn't take after me, why would you think that?). She falls asleep finally, as I think (for the millionth time this year) how crazy it is that I have a daughter. Most superheroes don't get the storybook ending; their "job" keeps them from keeping a steady relationship, and because of the enemies they gain, their loved ones are in constant danger. Fortunately for Captain Stacy's Daughter, her husband is an absolutely incredible man (who took "The Reveal" episode in our relationship remarkably well; he only stammered for a whole minute, turned white and fainted. I still tease him about it), AND she has amazing friends who help protect her family. Our good friend Stephen Strange has mystical what-nots in effect to protect us from villains and their attacks (as well as the Doctor's own strange activities).

I gently lay her back down in her crib, knowing a single false move will awake her again. Seeing no signs of wake-age, I tread carefully back to my room and bed. Climbing back in, I lay down next to Peter, who looks messier than he usually does. with his mussed hair, stubble and half open eyes. Peter asks me if Rachel is asleep. I assure him she is, and, laying down, I turn to face him, thinking he'll go back to sleep. But, instead, he surprises me and keeps talking.

"How is she doing?" He asks me as I snuggle down to get comfortable again.

"She's doing just fine. A couple more months and she'll sleep through anything," I tell him. "How are you doing? I went to go calm Rachel so you could keep sleeping. You know you have a big day tomorrow, with JJJ interviewing you for a new management job for the picture department." Peter had been slowly climbing up the ranks of the newspaper he works for, _The Daily Bugle,_ ever since he was sixteen.

"Gwen, you know talking to me about working too much is gonna go in one ear and out the other. You do way more of, well, everything than I do. You know that. You are literally saving the world while I just capture and edit pictures of it," Peter tells me, half indignantly. I kiss him on the cheek. "And yet, I love you anyways. _You_ do more for this family than anyone else, Peter."

He smiles to me for a second, then turns back over to sleep. I turn over as well and get comfortable. Just as I fall asleep, I feel his arms curl over my shoulder, warm and comforting.

 _I'm in New York, outside the Sanctum. But it looks kinda different, like it did years ago. In fact, I look like I did years ago, like when I was 20 and had just recently became an Avenger. But why am I here? My confusion is interrupted as my attention is turned to the humongous roar and screams coming from behind me. I turn and see a Huge Fiery Head…. Which then begins to speak to me. "Ah….Spider-Woman. Hello," it says, but with the voice of a million growling, echoing voices. It's terrifying. "I'm coming back to destroy you...I'm going to make your world pay for what you and- Oh. Wait. Strange is sensing us….Hmmm..He cannot know of what I'm trying to do...So, before you die, Let's make it impossible for him to get any information out of you…..." As he stops concentrating on talking to me and starts concentrating on destroying me, I begin to wonder what's going on. What is he talking about? What does he mean 'Strange is sensing us'? What does that mean? Do I know him? I think I figured it out just as he throws a huge fireball my way. It zooms towards me and-_

I wake up to find Peter looking terrified. I prop myself up, only to realize I'm sweating and shaking. It's morning, which means Rachel slept for the rest of the night. "What's wrong?" I ask him, barely keeping the quiver out of my voice. Frankly, I don't have an answer for my own question. Did I miss something? I can't really remember what my dream was, but I don't seem to recall anything scary or weird. "You were saying some really weird stuff, Gwen. Like, Latin-Exorcist kinda stuff." Peter looks absolutely terrified of me, which not only scares me, but also startles me knowing that I could do something that scares him. "I-I'm sorry. I don't know why that happened. I have no memory of doing that…just a dream of me, but younger…How long Have I been doing that?" I ask him. "I don't know… 5 minutes or so is how long I've been awake for it." Peter still looks incredibly wary of me. He gets up out of bed as an Idea strikes him. "Hey, Do you think we should tell Stephen about this? This is kind of his thing, isn't it?" He asks me. I think about that for a second, but a sudden overwhelming sense of dread gives my answer. "No," I tell him. "We'll be fine, I think." Stephen doesn't need to become involved; I'm sure I'll find out it was just one of my villains messing with me later today (I'm coming for YOU, Bodega Bandit. Actually….he's probably not smart enough to mess with me like that…..Whatever. I'm coming for him anyways!). So, after I calm Peter down and tell him that it's ok, he leaves to get dressed for the day. I stay in the bedroom and think a bit about what he told me. I don't know how this kind of thing could happen. I decide to hope I was just mumbling random stuff coming from what Doctor Strange taught me once. The stuff in that lesson was definitely scary enough. Having that settled, I get up to go get Rachel ready for the day. She slept for the rest of the night, thank goodness. I don't know if either of us would be ready for the day if she hadn't. I dress her in her baby blue onesie and take her to Peter so they can get going to the Daily Bugle offices. I kiss Peter and wish him good luck. He seems to have gotten over this morning's episode, which goes to show how trusting he is. _Goodness, I don't deserve him,_ I think as he leaves. Anyways, it's time for me to go rustle up some trouble and some weirdos with a score to settle with me. I go back to the master room and grab my costume and slip into it. With the morning already falling into the back of my mind, I head out to get started on the day.

-9AM, 177 Bleecker St, 2nd Floor's Study-

The universe spread about him, Stephen Strange, Sorcerer Supreme, looks about the cosmos via his astral form, scouring them for any dangers. This is a common practice for him; it lets him think. Suddenly, the peaceful calm of the infinite cosmos are interrupted by a primal roar emanating from Earth itself. His astral form stops searching and heads back home to see what the problem is. He takes in the sight and knows exactly what is the problem. It's one of his oldest enemies.

One word; one name: "Dormammu."

-==-=-=Hello again! This is gonna be a super cool story! I'm excited to keep writing! I just had this idea come to me randomly at work one day, soooooo…. Here we are! Anyways, keep reading if you liked it, and leave a review; I LOVE LOVE LOVE reading reviews, they're so helpful. Note: this story is not a sequel to my first story, Masks, feat Spider-Gwen (there will be a sequel, after this story wraps). This is a different universe. Till Next (hopefully realllll sooon) chapter! Peace off! BOOP!


	3. Chapter 2

-Hey-o, It'sa new chapter! Thanks Review Guy NS120121! I changed the dream writing in the first chapter and I'll keep it in practice for the future! Hope Peter can keep everything together!-

9 AM- 177 Bleecker St, Outside The Entrance

Man, it feels good to be out here. I know how much some people hate the remarkable "Stank" that NYC has, and while it may not be fresh mountain air, somehow it's comforting to me. And I know many others who feel the same. I climb up to the top of the Sanctum to go head out for my day job. Once on top, I can see my husband and daughter head for the nearest subway station, making their way to The Daily Bugle. I wish I could go with them so often. To be there with my family. Alas, my "Great Responsibility" keeps me busy most of the time. I hope Peter does well today…

Sudden Police Sirens snap myself back to the current problems of the world; ones I can do something about this instant. I grab my backpack (change of clothes) and I'm about to race off when I hear Doctor Strange's voice call me. I turn back around to face him and find him literally RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. Harnessing a little bit of Jumping Spider, I spring into the air and flip so I'm facing Stephen. "Goodness, Stephen! Try to warn me next time you have something to ask me."

"Oh, come off it," He snaps at me. "We both know how much you enjoy showing off like that. Anyways, I came to ask you a question before you left. I need to know, did you happen to have an extraordinarily weird dream that you somehow can't remember anymore, then woke up from it chanting in Latin?" He asks in an extremely hinty, I-Am-Pretty-Sure-You-Did-Don't-Lie-To-Me-This-Is-Important kind of tone.

What do I do? Stephen was one of the only heroes who ever trusted me back when I was a new hero in NYC's scene. The media kept trying to paint me as a villain, and It was only thanks to the good Doctor here that I am still accepted by the public and the Superhero Community after the Avengers Break Up. I owe him the truth. And Yet….Somehow, I just can't get myself to tell him. Like, anything. Fun Fact about Growing Up: Adults are just as Judgmental and full of themselves as Teens are, We're just better at masking it. So I tell him, "Uhh. No. No, Stephen, nothing like that has happened. I spent most of last night tending to Rachel. You know that." I know, I know. Not the best idea ever. But for some reason I just couldn't bring myself to tell Stephen the Truth. _He doesn't need to be involved,_ I kept thinking to myself.

Stephen continues to speak in a wary, distrusting tone. "Well, if anything like that does happen, tell me as soon as possible. The other reason I came up here was to tell you that I'm leaving to...look for someone. I won't be here for the next day or so. And If you _do_ just _happen_ to find something, I daresay, _strange,_ just knock on the doors to my quarters. I will hear it, and come back as fast as I can. And if I don't, I'm dead. Or late. Don't be afraid to knock, as I fear something that could be threatening even the entirety of the multiverse may be happening as we speak." I can tell he still doesn't quite believe me.

"Oh, uh, sure Doc. Whatever you want, I'm your girl. Totally, I will tell you anything you want to know about any weird occurrences. I wish I had something to tell you today, but sadly, nothing even CLOSE to what you described occurred to me. Nope, nothing." I realize I tripped over my tongue about a minute ago. "Yeah, so…. Bye. I'm off to, you know, stop the baddies. Like I do. Like WE do, in fact. It sounds like You've got baddies to stop as well, and I'm really just taking up your time, so, I'm gonna leave now. Bye." I shoot off a web to the nearest building and jump. As I swing away, I can practically feel the Doctor's glare drilling into the back of my head as I leave.

The day proceeds as normal as normal days go (well, as normal as a day can be when you were bit by a radioactive spider as a teen and were given superhuman powers as a result). I run into Bodega Bandit (10 years since I became Spider-Woman and our rivalry is still going strong) and stop to make quick work of him. He's been trying to rob corner markets for years now. Today's contestant on "The Price Ain't Right So I'm Gonna Rob You - With Your Host, Bodega Bandit!": The SuperMega Store down the street from my Dad's place. I swing onto the roof and climb down the wall of the building. As I keep crawling, I can hear B. Bandit ranting at the Store Owner, Ross (Yeah, I know his name. This isn't the first time I have stopped a robbery here).

"Listen here. I dunno, if you're like new to this, or what. But when I give the bag ta be filled, you fill it. That's how it works." He tells Ross, in the most menacing tone he can manage (it's not very impressive, to say the least). I sneak in through the door, climb onto the ceiling, and then drop right behind Bodega without making a sound. Ross, this being not first rodeo, manages to pretend like I'm not here. He's actually pretty adept at it now.

"So Bandit Boy, how are things today? Still can't buy the bread, so you have to steal it instead?" I ask in my reserved-for-taking-in-criminals Sarcasm Tone. (Many a more mature hero thought that, after I married Peter, I would lose my flippant attitude towards , We can all see what happened there (I will admit, My snark has calmed down a bit since we married)). "You know, I don't know if you know this, but that didn't turn out too well for Valjean. Well, It didn't, but then it did, but then it didn't, and then it kinda did in the end? Either way, it's not going to end well for you, is the point I'm trying to make….I think."

To Bodega's Credit, he doesn't even seem surprised to find me. "You again," He mutters. "Yes, me again," I shoot back. "I mean, if you stopped robbing places all the time, maybe this wouldn't be a problem? You know, like maybe if you got an actual job?"

"Yeah? Think I should get a real job, huh? Well, if I stopped doing my job, YOU'D be out of a job. Did ya ever think about that one? And MAYbe, I can't get a _real_ job, because I never learnt enough in school to really get anywhere in the world? Maybe I came from a really terrible place, and never had any parental encouragement?" I'm taken aback by this sudden outburst. As each second goes by, I keep thinking he's going to stop, but he doesn't. Bandit's NOT STOPPING. "MAYBE that's why I keep doing this, WEEK after WEEK, unrelenting, never ending, because I CAN'T DO ANYTHING ELSE?! THAT maybe, JUST mayBE, there's more than just your life in this HUGE world?!" Bodega Bandit is scaring me. And, let me just say, that is not something that happens to me easily.

"Hey, uhhh, Hey. Just-Hey. Ummm. Listen, I'm sorry. I- uhhh I didn't know. Listen, I'm sorry. Hey, do you wanna, y'know, talk about it or something? This is clearly something that has, you know, been on your mind for years, and maybe, if it's ok with you, of course, maybe we could go find someone who could help you, like, y'know, talk it out and get it off your chest?" I was suddenly really….confused is probably the best word for what I was feeling. I had always just looked at my villains, knew they needed to be stopped and did what I had to do to get them locked up because, well, that's what I'd been taught and what I knew. _I never really got to know why they did what they did. I never had the time,_ I think to myself. _But, wow. Wow, maybe if-_

My planning and coordinating of a new help group for small time criminals and getting Bodega Bandit to be my first member is suddenly interrupted when Bandit busts out laughing like he's watching _The Naked Gun_. Now I'm just scared. Why is he laughing?

"I'm-I'm-HAHAHA-I'm sorry, Spider-Woman. We've been doing this for, what 10 years now? I just wanted to mess with ya a little." He tells me, tears in eyes from laughing so much.

"Wh-What? Wait. So all that story...it's fake?" I am turning red under my mask. I can't tell if I wanna cry or beat the crud out of Bodega.

"No, no, I did grow up in a bad environment. My dad left me and my mom died when I was ten, so I was left on my own. But, hey, who cares? I'm doing great!" We clearly have different ideas of "Doing Great".

"Are you KIDDING me, Bandit?! Really?! What is WRONG with you? WHY on EARTH would you try and manipulate someone's feelings like that?! You're just like every terrible Oscar Bait movie that doesn't get a nomination! Y'know What? I don't care!" I web up his mouth and his appendages. "THAT'S what you get when you be a jerk like that! GOODness, man!" I turn to Ross. "You can do what you want with him. I could really care less at this point." I turn back to Bodega Bandit, who's squirming in my webbing (I scrunch my nose under my mask. Ewww, that sounds weird). "Look, I thought we had some kinda fun Superhero-Nemesis relation cultivated over the years. But no! You threw it all away with that single performance! So, see ya." I turn to walk away. And turn back around. "Side note: you could totally become an actor if you wanted to. You TOTally sold me on your sadness five minutes ago. See ya."

2:00- Above 177 Bleecker St

After calming down after that insane morning by stopping a couple of robberies and a holdup, I head back home to get lunch because I need to eat something. I mean, it's kinda my home. But not quite? _If you're just temporarily living somewhere, is it a home?_ I wonder to myself as I swing over the apartment buildings below me. I stop and land on a building about a block from the Sanctorum. On this specific building is the Teleportation Platform Stephen constructed at my request. I started using this method of entering the sanctorum so no one sees me in superhero garb and civilian clothes so close to the same place. People know Gwen Stacy-Parker lives at the Sanctum, I'd prefer that they not know Spider-Woman does too. Due to Stephen putting some magic charm or spell or whatever on it, It only works if I'm on it. I don't know how it knows it's me, but I haven't dared to ask Stephen yet, as I know it will lead to an hour long lecture on complicated Magic Physics and Law, and that's not something I want to sit through. As soon as I stand on the platform, I start feeling a sudden buzzing and then suddenly I'm back inside the Sanctorum's foyer-and right in front of Wong, Doctor Strange's servant/housemaid...I mean, man.

"Gah! Wong, why are you right -well,HERE? Were you waiting for me? What do you want?" I exclaim.

Wong looks at me...well, strangely. His round face always has a questioning look, but somehow this one is even more odd. "I figured you would like to be informed about the visitor who's been waiting for you since noon."

It's my turn to give Wong a weird look. "Uhhhh...What? Why would anyone be visiting me here, but not have the decency to call first?" _Most people who know I live here have my number...and they know I insist on being called first, in case I come home from my job not wearing the appropriate outfit..._ I think to myself. _This is odd._

"I do not know. Regardless, he popped in today saying you know who he is. He says you know him from way back. Anyways, I need to get back to cleaning. Your visitor is waiting in the kitchen." He lowers his voice conspiratorially. "And, Mrs. Stacey-Parker, he does appear to be one of you super types. Just so you know." And, with that information delivered, Wong heads back up the stairs.

I decide that I shouldn't need to change out of my outfit, based on Wong's observation. Us "Super Types" are fairly recognizable.

I walk to the Kitchen, and open the door. Right in front of me, sitting in the kitchen with his feet on the table, is a tall, lanky man with messy brown hair, a long brown overcoat, and black eyes with red pupils. His outfit is mostly purple, with armor reinforcements and kneepads.

Gambit smiles at me when I walk in. "Ah, hello Mon Cherie. So this is where you live now? It t'is a nice place." He keeps his feet on the table. Just because he was born with his powers because he's a mutant, he thinks that he can just do whatever. Goodness.

"Gambit?" I take off my mask; he knows who I am. "What on earth are you doing here?!" I haven't seen Gambit since-since- Well,the less said about that event the better.

He notices my unhappy reaction. "Aw, such a poor reception. Can't an old friend come and visit and just, how you say, chat? A simple man just wanting a simple conversation? A simple human, ah, interaction?" He says with a wink.

"Gambit, please. We're not old friends." I sigh. I can't believe he's here. "I'm pretty sure that we didn't leave each other on the best of terms. And, as such, I figured any Human Interactions would be too awkward to ever want to have any. So what do you need? Shouldn't you be busy with saving the world with your 'X-Men' or whatever?"

"Ah, mon cherie. That is what I like about you: you're always headed straight for the point. You got me; I do need your help. You see, one of the school's students was recently taken control of by some evil thing or...other... and is currently holding up a Bank and I need your help to stop her." Gambit explains to me. Kind of. Frankly, I'm a little confused. I know that the school that Gambit slacks off at- I mean, teaches at- is a (now) mutant only school, and one of the only schools where such events as the one he just described to me can happen. What I don't know, however, is why on earth he would ever come to me specifically for help. So I ask him.

"Ah, that t'is an easy one. Because he was asking for you by name...err, title. She, or the...thing… in control of her, I 'spose, said 'Tell Spider-Woman that she has unfinished business with me. If she doesn't come negotiate with me now, this child will perish.'"

-Hello Again! I'm really loving writing this story! I hope you guys like my writings for Gwen and Peter and Doctor Strange, etc. Please Review, I LOVE reading Reviews!


	4. Chapter 3

-Helloooooo This is gonna be a crazy action chapter! Plus Flashbacks!-

2:30, PM, The Present- 177 Bleecker, The Kitchen

"No. No Way. You have got to be kidding. No way could that have happened." My head is swimming. This is not happening.

"You heard me, mon cherie. He asked for you. There's only one Spider-Woman. He refuses to talk to anyone else. We need you on this, Mon Cherie." I can tell Gambit is starting to get serious with this.

"Oh man. This is probably not good. Anyone who wants me specifically probably has some kind of a bone to pick with me." Which is never ever good. Revenge plots are always worse in comparison to their initial plots. They have a sense of vengeance with them.

"I'm sorry, Gwen." Gambit called me by my real name? This _is_ serious. "Listen, I realize you're scared, but this petit little one needs you now. Forget about what….happened at the school and just focus on what is happening now. So, will you come?"

He looks at me with a somewhat pleading look. Which, for Remy, is incredibly rare. I remember last time he looked at me like that, back when I was just starting to make my way around in the Superhero World...

Noon, March 20, 2002- Edwards 14 Cinemas

"Man, thanks for taking me to 9 Mile today, Remy. It was such an amazing movie! And, I mean, I know the story was totally just appeasing the M'n'M fanboys and girls, it was still pretty good, and the soundtrack was practically on fire. I mean, those guys can rap! So Cool!"

I'm gushing over a new biopic about a famous rapper with my very best friend, Remy LaBeau. We both attend Prof Xavier's School for Gifted Children, since my parents decided being in a normal High School with Superpowers was a bad idea. Plus, the public doesn't like me, they don't like the school and students because of their abilities; it was a perfect fit. We hang out all the time: him because he thinks I'm funny and likes hanging with someone who appreciates his accent; Me because… well, He was a clueless teenager, and had no idea why I hung out with him so much.

"Yeah, it was pretty cool, wasn't it? Not as cool as you, but still up there." He flashes a smile at me and I laugh. "Man, thanks Remy! You are the literal best!" He laughs again as we walk to his car to drive back to campus.

"Hey, so listen: have you met the new girl, Rogue?" He asks me. "Yeah, she seems cool. I haven't seen her the past couple of days though." I respond before trailing off. "Right. Yeah. Listen, I've been meaning to tell you this, but I've just started da-" he begins to say as we enter his car. But Remy is cut off by the sudden ring of phone. I flip it open and answer.

"Hello? Oh, Hello Prof. Xavier. What? Oh no, that's not bad. Yeah, me and Gambit will get right on it. Thank you sir, we'll try our best. Bye."

"What was that about?" Remy asks me, looking oddly forlorn.

"Prof. X says there's some crazy person fighting in a cave not far from here, and he asked us to stop him. From his description, it kinda sounds like a symbiote, so that'll be interesting. Shouldn't be too hard though. I did manage to defeat Venom once and for all last week. There's no way he could've survived that trash compactor he fell in." I had finally fought my then archnemesis Venom, a space parasite goo thing that gained conscience and form, into submission and soon afterwards it was accidentally destroyed in a trash compactor it fell in. Nothing but a gooey pulp left by the end.

"Yeah, no, definitely not Venom. Where is this place in need? I can help you out if you need it." He sounds like he's worried about something."Yeah, totally! We work together so well, you know?" He half-heartedly agrees as I give him the directions Prof X sent me and we head off in an odd silence.

3:00 PM, The Present- In Pursuit Of Possessed Child, Outside New York's State Bank

I agree to help Remy (I mean, what else was I supposed to do?), and follow him to where the child is apparently located. I'm still suspicious of him, due to what happened last time I trusted him, but, still, if he is telling the truth, than I have to help this little kid out. We head to the National Bank in the middle of town, as that's where police scanners are indicating something as going on currently. I'm swinging across town; Gambit's using a Jetpack Xavier's School has lying around. We arrive and I land on the roof of the Bank, with Gambit right behind me.

"Now, What are we gonna do? Just subdue him, I guess?" I ask Gambit.

"If push comes to shove, yeah. I figured you'd just talk to him-it-whatever, before we fought it," he replies. I suppose that makes more sense. This thing, whatever it is, just wants me, apparently. So maybe it won't want to fight us? _Fat Chance,_ I think to myself as I lower myself and Gambit to the ground.

We walk in unopposed. There appears to be no one about. Which is….odd.

"Hey, Kitty? Or….spirit t'ing inhabiting Kitty?! I brought her! Just like you asked!"Remy yells.

I nearly have a heart attack as I remember what happened the last time he brought me to see someone….

March 20 2002, 2:00 PM, Outside the Dark Cave on the Outskirts of Town

"Well, here we are. Prof X said this is the place where the supposed villain is?" Remy asks me. It's the first thing he's said to me since we left. He just suddenly clammed up a bunch while he drove, which is uncommon for him.

"Yeah, this is it. Here, Let's go in and explore the area, see if we can find the villain around here." Gambit trails behind me as we head into the cave. I can't really see anything, so I rely on my "Spider-Sense", as I've taken to calling it. I'm still getting used to it, but I understand it well enough to feel my way inside. Plus, My flip phone has a built in Flashlight, so that helps a bunch as well. I accidentally pull out the matches I keep on me (it's what I get for having a police officer for a dad). These could work for light too...I decide to save them; maybe this... whatever it is…. will have a weakness to fire.

We travel on in silence. We've been travelling into the cave for almost 15 minutes when I finally decide that I need to talk to _someone_. My thoughts were starting to scare me.

"Hey, Gambit? You doing fine? I mean, OK? What'd you want to tell me earlier?" I receive no response from my friend behind me. I stop and turn around to find him. And proceed to not find him. "Uhhh… Gambit? Where are you?" I'm not used to using Remy's codename, but Logan, our "Power Control" Instructor at Xavier's, says to always use field names when one is in an unfamiliar territory.

He suddenly walks into the light of my flashlight, ahead of me. "I'm here. And, listen, I'm really sorry about this," he says to me, with a very deep sense of regret in a voice. "What's wrong, Gambit?" I ask with fear starting to sneak into my voice. "Just-Just know that you'll always be one of my best friends, no matter what happens." He turns around, and moves farther into the darkness of the cave. "HERE!" He yells into the seeming abyss. "I BROUGHT HER, JUST LIKE YOU ASKED! NOW LET ROGUE GO!"

I suddenly feel a shock of adrenaline shoot through my system as my Spider-Sense goes off. But why? "Uhhhh Remy, Who are you talking to? What do you mean you brought _her_?"

Before He can answer a sudden wave of Black goo swoops down from the top of the cave and wraps around me. My reflexes kick in and instantly I try to move out of the goo, but can't burst through the goop as it drags me to the roof.

"There! See? You have her now! Now give me back Rogue!" Gambit yells again at…. Something. Something near me but not quite _at_ me…

"Gambit!" I yell at him again. "What are you talking about?! Who are you talking to?! This is absolutely crazy? WHAT IS GOING ON?!" Honestly, I'm so scared, but I know not to freak. The sludge has completely covered my body below my neck. It's kinda scary right now, but frankly I'm more disturbed than terrified at this point. I mean, there's black stuff holding me still and a sinking feeling that I didn't take care of Venom as well as I thought I did.

Suddenly a voice, deep and dark, sounds from all around me. I eventually deduced that it's the goo making all the noise. "Ah, Remy LeBeau, you poor soul. Betraying your best friend for your true love. Such a hard decision, no? Ah, well C'est La Vie. Isn't that what you Cajun folk say?"

"Gambit, what is….Whatever it is…. talking about? What IS GOING ON?!" I yell at the top of my lungs. I must have scared the sentient sludge, because I could feel its tendrils loose as I yelled. It was eerie, really.

"Oh, did he not tell you why you're here? Well, since he's probably too emotionally wrecked right now to explain hard decisions can do that to you….I guess I'll tell you then. You see, I kidnapped the new girl, Rogue, who our man Remy here had the hots for- Or didn't you know? Anyways, one night he came looking for. Which led him here. I told him that the only way he could save her was if he brought you here so I could exact my revenge on you for almost destroying me a week ago. Yes, Indeed," He says, sensing my escalating feeling of fear, "Venom has returned!" I swallow hard. This does not bode well for my survival of today. "And look! He performed perfectly! You're here, and totally bound with no chance of escape!" Venom moves and shifts as something from behind me is pushed forward. "And, just as promised, the other lovely lady is returned!" Emerging from the darkness comes Rogue, as she runs straight into Gambit's arms once freed. "There we are, the loving couple reunited! Now be off, so I can utterly destroy your now betrayed best friend!"

They ran. They ran so far away. And I couldn't get away.

3:15, Present Day- New York State Bank

I snap out of my flashback, figuring if this was a trap, I'm strong enough to fight and win this time.

We walk farther into the building. It's strangely quiet, considering all the police reports Remy picked up before we arrived. But as we move even farther into the building, I begin to sense an energy emanating from in front of us. But I don't see anything particularly eye catching. I'm just about to ask Remy what he thinks is going on when, suddenly, I can see everything in the room. It seems as if a light switch had been turned on, even though there already was light in the room. There are people bound and gagged with what seems to be a green ribbon that looks like it's made of gas somehow. They all look so helpless…. I wonder if I looked that scared when I was captured after Remy betrayed me…

3:30, December 20th, 2002- Cave On Edge Of Town

I've been trapped in Venom's symbiote for an hour before I make any headway on escaping. And I only barely escaped Venom that day. I struggled and screamed. I screamed for hours, as I figured out after an hour that loud sounds hurt the symbiote. I screamed and screamed until Venom had loosened his grip enough that I could pull myself out of his goo (I was so hoarse afterwards that I couldn't speak properly for a week). The only weapon I had were my matches, so I lit them on the cave wall and threw them at Venom. As soon as they touched, a shrill cry emanated from the center of Venom. Suddenly he rammed his entire form against the cave wall, causing a slight rain of rubble to fall onto the fires (who knew black symbiote goo was so flammable?). It's not enough to put them out, and Venom just continues to burn. It's horrifying, but I'm too busy with not dying to feel anything other than survival instincts. As I watch this sight that's straight out of a horror film, I regain my senses and run. Gambit took his car, so I just run until I find a road. When I do, I text my dad and ask him to pick me up. No explanation, just "Come pick me up I'm at the road leading to the caves". I waited for half an hour before my dad came for me. I had him drop me off at our home and then asked him (not verbally) if he could go pick up my stuff and tell the Professor why I wouldn't be attending school anymore. That was the last time I saw any of the students there (I did serve as an Avenger at the same time as Wolverine though), and I never went back. My parents moved me back to Midtown High (where I was attending before I got a nasty spider bite). I hid my powers from the other students and snuck out to do superheroine whenever I could. Eventually I met Peter, we started dating, he got his job at the Daily Bugle, I revealed to him my own job, we graduated, we went to college, he proposed, we got married, I gave birth to Rachel, he graduated college with a degree in photojournalism (we couldn't afford to pay for both of us to attend,and thus decided that he would be able to use it more). We moved in with Stephen Strange shortly after Peter graduated because Strange owed me and is the only hero I trust after the "Avengers Fiasco" that happened a year after Peter and I got married. Everyday there's something new to take care of ...which is how I got into this crazy situation with the man I swore I would never trust again….

3:26, Present Day- New York State Bank, Backroom

"Ahhh good good. So glad you could join us, Spider-Woman." An eerie voice says behind us. I turn from the captured police officers and bankgoers and face the area where the voice was coming from. In front of me is a teenaged girl, about as old as I was when I was when I first became Spider-Woman. She has a thin build and looks like she'd break with just a small breeze. Her long brown hair completes her look as a normal person, and I'd believe she was...if not for her glowing green eyes. Yep, this is the girl we're looking for.

"Ummmm…..Hi. I heard you were looking for me. So...here I am. But I'm only here so you will release Kitty here from your…. Care. Please." I ask it.

"Hm. I don't know… I like the ability to become intangible with a thought that this girl possesses. It's handy." It looks at me and laughs. I must've looked very mad or very scared. "Don't worry. I only needed to make a fuss so I could attract your attention. Besides, I'm the one who gets to make the demands. And my demand is that you listen to this message I have for you." Suddenly, Kitty and the other police officers and bank goers start to float. Their gas gags disappear as they begin to speak as one: "He has not forgotten. He has not lost remembrance of what you did to him. And he's returning to exact vengeance very soon. Be on careful watch, for your doom approaches." Once they finish the lights spark and everyone in the room falls to the ground, including me.


	5. Chapter 4

5:00 PM- New York State Bank

….and wake up still in the back room. The lights are back on and Gambit is standing over me.

"Ahhh, good, good to see you're awake Mon Cherie. I was starting to worry." Remy proceeds to explain to me that right after we were all knocked out, more police officers arrived and woke everyone except me. For some reason, they couldn't wake me, so I stayed there on the floor for an hour, having my life shown to me.

Gambit helps me to my feet and we go check on Kitty, the Intangible Girl that whatever that thing was (we never did find who "he" was...hmmm) was possessing. She's sitting by herself on a bench in the foyer of the bank.

"You OK, Kitty? Willing to bet you'd be pretty shaked...shooken...shoook...up." She shakes her head. "No, I'm fine. Honestly, I barely remember any of it…" She suddenly pales. "I didn't do anything… bad, did I?" She looks terrified. Being a ….host, I guess, must've really drained her. "No, no, no…." I reassure her. "You didn't hurt anyone. The ….thing…. was just using you to deliver a message and needed to quickly get my attention." I sit down next to her on the bench. "Hey. Listen, I am SO sorry about all this. Whoever did this to you just decided to take advantage of you purely because somehow it knew of mine and Gambit's ….history, and knew what would get the fastest reaction from me...and I apologize about that." I do feel really bad about the whole thing. Someone is messing with me, and now a kid new to the superhero world got caught in the crossfire. And I'm totally responsible.

But she just looks at me incredulously. "Are you kidding? I can handle this kind of thing, I'm not as noob as some of you guys think. And besides, getting to meet you? That more than makes up for all this crazy. You're like the coolest hero out there! I mean, you've been doing this since you were, like, my age! That's super cool. I mean, seriously, none of the girls back at the school are going to believe this! Hey, speaking of…." She suddenly waves to another girl behind us who just entered the bank. She gets up and runs to the front entrance, leaving me and Gambit by ourselves.

"Well then," I say. "Anyways...that's weird that you couldn't wake me up...I was dreaming something weird….it was like a slideshow of my life or something, starting from when you left me in that cave and- Uhh...I mean…" Gambit's face instantly hardens. Oh, good job, Gwen. You're trying to be tactful here.

"Listen…"Gambit begins, but I cut him off. "I don't wanna talk about it, OK?" I don't want to relive that day ever again, and having Gambit apologize would just make it hurt more. The only reason I came was because Kitty needed to be saved, and it sounded like it could be my fault. I still won't ever trust you again, but that doesn't mean you need to apologize. You had good reasons for doing what you did. I would've done the same thing if Peter or Rachel were in danger. And if I didn't leave Xavier's school, I never would've met Peter. And I have no idea where I would be without him. So, In a way, I should say Thank You. I won't, but….Look, let's just not talk about it. It's in the past." I get up and walk away. "Hey!" Gambit calls to me as I reach for the door. "I'm sorry for what you had to go through." I pause for a second, say over my shoulder, "It's OK," and then go out the door.

Midnight- Sanctum Sanctorum

After finding no other villains to fight, I return home, quickly climbing a top the teleportation Platform. A little buzzing later, I'm back at home (Again...is it my HOME? I still haven't decided…). I turn on a light so I can see and make my way to my room. Rachel's asleep ( I can tell because there's no crying going on), so I make sure to be extra quiet as I sneak into my bedroom. I slip off my backpack and half rip my outfit off, as I'm just too tired to actually worry about putting it away. I drop it next to the bed, where Peter is already laying down. I'm about to throw myself into a flop before I realize that's wake Peter up. I catch myself using my Spider Senses and _lightly_ throw my hands in front of me before I hit the bed with my body. I look at Peter to make sure he didn't wake up...It doesn't look like it….. "Go ahead and do your flop. I haven't slept at all tonight." I get up, and then oblige. Tossing oneself onto a bed is very comforting.

"So how'd your day go?" Peter turns over on the bed. "You've been gone a long time. You OK?" I turn to lay on my side and answer, "I'm fine, Peter. I mean, sure, it was unnerving still. I still don't trust Gambit...I don't know why, but I can't seem to shake the feeling that he's still gonna do me in, even though I KNOW he did what he did for good reasons. I would betray anyone for you or Rachel. But, still...I don't know. It's complicated and I'm still too emotionally frazzled to really untangle anything. I just-I had to help the girl. I couldn't let him stay captured by….whatever had her. But who cares how my day went. I wanna know: how'd your interview go?" I appreciate the thought Peter is giving me right now, but honestly the last thing I want to do is talk about it.

"Well, actually, it went really well! JJJ promoted me to Head Of Photography at the Bugle! It's going to be a bit more work, but that work is going to translate into a fair amount more into my salary, so that's very good. We're going to need it at the rate Rachel is growing at." He reports. I smile. "That's so amazing, Peter! I'm so proud of you! I mean, I knew you would get it, of course, but it's nice to have solid confirmation."

"Yeah, I agree. I was getting worried too. But, I bet my day pales next to what you did today, huh? How'd you take seeing _him_ again?" Peter asks me innocently enough. I'm sure he does just want to know what happened. But, for some reason, it just gets to me in the worst way. I frown and tell him, "I already said I didn't want to talk about it, Peter. Just drop it please?"

His face passes through a bunch of different expressions in moments: astonishment, disappointment, anger, sadness. He frowns and says, "Oh. I'm sorry. I-I-I won't bring it up again…" He turns over again, with his back to me now. I'm shocked at myself as I suddenly realize that I got a lot more angry than this situation needed. I need to apologize. "Hey, Peter, I'm-" I begin, but I'm quickly cut off by Rachel's crying emanating from our Baby Radio. Peter immediately gets up to go get her. "I got her. It's my turn anyways. Go to bed, I'll take care of her." he says with a bit of a shakiness in his voice.

 _Great,_ I think to myself. I lay back down, trying my hardest to not fall asleep. I'm determined to stay up until Rachel goes back to bed. I was way more harsh and bitter-toned than I needed to be. I'll just wait for Peter, give him some time to cool off...Unfortunately, I am very tired, and, before Peter comes back, I fall asleep.

 _I'm back at the Sanctum Sanctorum as my 18 year old self again. As I look around, though, I can tell the world is not in an even worse place than where I left last time. It looks utterly destroyed. There's fire everywhere, and it seems to be coming from a very scary source. There's a huge humanoid being made of fire standing higher than even Avengers Tower, the largest building of its kind ever built. As I look closer, I can see Doctor Strange trying to fight the Flame Giant Man Thing, but he isn't having much success. Buildings come crashing down with every attack the Doctor throws at Flame Head. I start to break into a run so I can go help him, but before I can get very far, I hit my toe on something very hard and metallic. I look down to see what it was, only to discover it's Captain America's Shield. I pick it up and look for the owner of the shield. But as I do, human bodies suddenly come into focus all around me on the ground. As I try to focus on the bodies, I realize that they're all the Avengers who were serving at the same time I was. As I continue on running through flaming streets, I notice my fists are stained red with blood. But, somehow, I know it's not mine. I look back at the bleeding and knocked out Avengers and then at my now red, always gloved hands. "Did-Did I do this?" I say aloud. Suddenly my Spider Senses go off and I jump out of the way just as Doctor Strange comes flying by and slams into the ground. I look up as Sun Man smiles in the most terrifying way possible. "Well, well, well. This isn't how you remember it, is it?" he asks menacingly. What? Remember what? What is Ra here talking about? "Oh. You don't remember at all, do you? Well, that works. Well, it will happen like this soon. I will be victorious!" He-Sun yells. Suddenly everything goes dark, then the Not-Human-Maybe-Demon(?) Torch floods my vision with fire. It speeds towards me…_

"GWEN! WAKE UP!"

Peter is telling and shaking me awake. Without thinking, I swing at him, and only start to pull my punch as I realize who it is yelling at me. I manage to miss before I make contact, but it's still enough to knock him onto his side of the bed. I immediately hop off the bed and run to his side to help him.

"Oh my goodness, Peter, I'm so sorry!" I exclaim to him as I help him back onto the bed in a sitting position. "I was having a nightmare again, and I guess adrenaline was rushing through me, so when you woke me, I was just so-" I ramble until I'm cut off by Peter. He puts his index finger to my lips to stop me. "I know you were having a nightmare. Wanna know how I know?" He asks,a not so tiny tinge of anger hiding in his voice. I have a feeling that I know exactly how, but I don't answer. He continues after waiting a second to see if I'd answer. "I know because you were doing the creepy Latin speak thing again. And this time you didn't immediately wake up after I tried to wake you like yesterday! This is getting bad, Gwen! Really bad! I'm scared and worried and all these crazy things going on at once." He stops momentarily and sighs. " What are we going to do about this, Gwen?"

"I don't- look, it's not a big deal! I'm sure it was just because of the ghost possessing little Kitty yesterday! I mean…" Peter's eyes grow wide at my mention of yesterday's events. "So….so that's what you had to rescue her from, then?" I stare at the ground, then him, then back to the ground. "Yeah, that's what happened. There was an evil...spirit thing...that had her under its control. I had to stop it."

Peter takes a second to take this in. After a couple moment's silence, he speaks. "And this doesn't scare you at all?" Of course, Peter would bring it back to this. "Peter! I'm fine. I can literally not think of any reason why this would be anything more than repercussions from the fight yesterday. I'm sure- I'm sure- I don't know what I'm sure of now. Look. If this is so bad, what do you suggest I do?" I ask him, legitimately hoping he has a good answer. This dream thing has confused me more than anything. I wish I could agree with Peter, but I just have such a huge sinking feeling about telling anyone. I can't explain it, really,which makes it really complicated to make any points.

"I don't- I don't know! I'm not, y'know… a superhero like you...I don't know what you do with this kind of crazy! I mean, we've been through a lot of crazy, but- but…" He sighs and continues, "Look, I don't understand the work you do, or how you go about it, but even I have vague ideas about when things go from 'Manageably Bad' to 'Super Really Bad' ….And this seems to be Super Really Bad." He sighs again, but heavier this time. "I don't know. Do you really think this is just repercussions from your encounter earlier yesterday?"

I almost want to agree with Peter so much. I want to tell him he's probably right, that maybe we should tell Strange… but, again, I can't shake the the feeling that something is just wrong with telling anyone. Like I literally cannot tell anyone about my weird dreams. "Peter, I'm positive that the dreams were just prelude and epilogue to the fight I had. Warning and residue. No big deal, y'know, now that we're past that. We're fine."

Peter eyes me questioningly. "OK, then. Still…"

I give him a similarly questioning look. "What? What are you thinking? Do you have an idea?" I hope he has something to help me out of this crazy hole of doubt and oddity I'm in right now. It's such a scary feeling to be unsure of what's happening to you.

"How about, just for one morning, at least, you stay here and not go do any superheroing? Wait, Wait, before you say anything, hear me out. Just listen. If you just stay here, we'll be able to tell if this Latin Dreaming is only because of Kitty-Spirit, or something else you keep having to fight while you're out, or something else entirely...OK? Can you do that? You and I both know that there ARE other heroes who can fight villains while you're can stay here and….loaf? Read? I don't know what you would want to do. Regardless..Look, all I'm asking is that you just take a break for a little bit this morning? Then you can come join me and Rachel for lunch like you like to? Can you do that for us?"

I think it over for a second. "I guess… if that's what you think could help. Surely it's as good as anything- wait! 'Join you AND Rachel'?! Are you saying you're not going to leave her here? Why on earth not?!" Suddenly, I become a bit aggravated. I cannot believe that Peter would take Rachel for no good reason, especially if I'm going to be at home for the day.

"Because, Gwen, the whole point of you staying home today would be no stress. Rachel would be stress. Thus, I'm taking her with me to work, like normal," Peter explains. Sound reasoning, but still, I feel like there's something he's not telling me…

"You don't trust me around her, do you? Just because I've had this problem twice. You don't want me to be left alone with her. You're holding onto ideas that I could somehow, like fall asleep, and the weird superhero and Latin Dreaming stuff could hurt her. Don't you? Tell me I'm wrong. I know that's what you're thinking!" I manage to lash out at Peter before I regain my temper. Peter looks physically taken aback. "Peter-I'm-I'm...Oh, Peter. I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me. Please, just….Please, just-" But Peter just stands up, turns and heads for the door. "You clearly need to stay home. You're stressed out. In the extreme. I will see you later this afternoon. Hopefully you're all collected. But I don't wanna yell at someone I love, or doing something I'll regret, so I'm gonna wait till lunch to continue this ya then. Bye." And he leaves the room, grabbing his clothes on the way out.

And suddenly, I'm alone. I sit on the bed in silence, and then throw myself on the couch like I did last night.

However, this time, I don't do it happily. I do it cry-ily.


	6. Interlude I

10 AM- The Main Bedroom of The Sanctum Sanctorum

I fall asleep after about an hour after Peter leave. I just drifted off afterwards. Man. Suddenly, everything that happened this morning comes back. Oh, I am such an idiot. What is wrong with me? There's clearly something off. We've had our arguments and disputes before, but never this...angrily. It's like something has gotten into me, something that I can't control. But, growing tired of laying around and being sad, I get up out of my bed and decide to help Wong with his normal house chores that he takes care of while me, Peter and The Doctor are busy or gone. Vacuuming helps me think. After a while, I decide my dad may have the key to fixing this rift. Maybe he'll know what to do. I haven't visited him in a while anyways.

11 AM- The New York Police Station

I enter the police station and look around. There are so many familiar faces running around: Officer Dewolff, Officer Castle, Officer Grimm. All of them have been over to my old house before, whether it was for a friendly dinner together, or for my mother's wake and funeral. They've all been friends of the family, and been good officers for my dad, who's worked with each of them since they joined the force. I smile and wave at each of them as I enter.

Officer DeWolff actually stops to give me a hug as I pass by her. "What are you doing here?" She asks, in her normal cheery voice.

"Hey, Jean. I'm just here to talk to my dad for a bit...I need to talk to him about something really quick." Jean was 'assigned' to take care of me by my Dad after I had Rachel and had to stay home (I stayed at my Dad's during this time so as not to give anything away) and Peter had to work. Because of this time we spent together, we became good friends.

"Oh," She says. "Something wrong at home?"

"No...well… maybe. But I don't know what exactly is wrong… I still haven't figured out what I need. That's what I'm here to figure out." I've always went to my mom and dad for help once I hit adulthood, especially my mom. She just always knew what I needed to hear. My dad on the other hand….well, there's a reason he always told me to go ask my mother about an issue. But, he's the only one I can really talk to about this right now, so I don't have much of a choice.

Jean gives me a crooked half smile. "I see. Well, Captain Stacy is in his office. You know where it is." And with that, she keeps on walking, probably to attend to her work, like any sensible person would do.

 _Stop,_ I tell myself, _Peter had good reasons for asking you to sit out today._ _You could be in trouble, and he had the good sense to keep you out of trouble for the moment._

I knock on the door to my dad's office and enter without waiting for an invitation. "Hey, Daddy. Can you...Are you, y'know, available to talk?"

Dad looks up and smiles in surprise. "Uh, yeah of course." He clears his throat. "Yeah, I'm free. What do you need?" He gestures to the chair across from his own.

I take it and sit down. "So...How are you doing?" My father gives me an inquiring look. "Fine," I say grudgingly, "I'll get to the point. Me and Peter have been… disagreeing a lot recently, and I'm not sure how to handle it. We've had arguments in the past, but not this...Intensely. I'm beginning to worry what's going to happen to us. I mean, I just can't seem to agree with him on the subject. But I hate fighting with him, as well. I don't know. What do you think I should do?"

The office becomes quiet with the sudden lack of sound as my dad doesn't immediately respond. He just sits for a while, looking like he's deep in concentration. After a while, he speaks. "So, you two are arguing a lot?" I nod in confirmation. "And you can't seem to agree with Peter?" Another nod from me. "Well, I think that… I think.. well, maybe you should...You should probably…" He suddenly throws his hands up in defeat, sighs, and says, "This is why I always sent you to your mom when you had relationship issues."

"I know that, Dad! But obviously, I can't to that, can I?!" My dad suddenly looks taken aback, and I realize I crossed a line I didn't mean to cross. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. It's just...I'm so lost right now, and it scares me."

Dad gets up from his desk chair and pulls me into a comforting hug. "Shhhh… I know, I miss her too. I miss your mother just as much as you do." He hugs me tighter. "She...she would know what to do. Me, I...I'm not sure what to say, really. I-I-Maybe the best thing for you to do right now is to love your family. That'll show them how much they mean to you, and maybe that'll heal any tears your fights may have caused." He lets go of me and sits back down. As I collect myself, I say, "Thanks dad. Really, I appreciate it." I quickly glance at the clock on the wall and realize it's almost time for me to go meet Peter for Lunch anyways. "Listen, I need to go now...I need to go show my family I love them." I flash a smile at my dad and get up. As it turn to leave, I notice my father's eyes falling upon a picture he keeps on his desk: me and my parents on my wedding day. Simpler times. But only barely.


	7. Chapter 5

-Hey-o! I'm here again. Still loving this story, it's a bunch of fun! Getting back to the main mystery at hand…

Noon- Daily Bugle Skyscraper, Foyer

After an adventurous, productive, and an admittedly actually-none-of-these-things morning, I go back into the bedroom to change into nicer, more dressy clothes. When I can, I go meet up with Peter and Rachel for lunch during his break. I put on my blouse and skirt and put away my pajamas that'd I'd been loafing around all morning. I'm putting on my nicer clothes because JJJ (Peter's Boss) insists that anyone who works in his building be dressed well and business like, to give off a good professional vibe. I know I don't work there, but, to be respectful to JJJ's rules (and in hope that, if he thinks well of me, he'll be good to Peter), I still dress up. Peter appreciates the gesture too.

As I step outside the Sanctum, I take a moment to appreciate how huge New York is. I mean, I have a Hawkeye view (get it? Like bird but like superhero too? Yes, I realize it doesn't make a lot of sense) of everything when I go swinging, but from down here, it just kinda strikes you as huge. The buildings are huge. The cars are huge. The stores are huge. Even the personalities are huge. Speaking of, I've arrived at my destination: JJJ's Magnus Opus, the Daily Bugle building.

I walk in and go to the front desk, my flats making no sound as I walk. Ms. Brant, the receptionist, a brunette in her mid thirties who wears way too much perfume and not enough anti-frizz hair spray, knows exactly what I'm here for. "Mr. Parker?" she says into the ancient phone system they have installed. "A special someone is here to join you and your daughter for lunch. I'm sending her up now."

"Thanks, Betty," I call behind me as I head for the elevator. I press the button for the thirtieth floor, and wait for the elevator to get moving. Peter told me once that Jameson hasn't updated his elevator system since the '90s, which is why the elevators sometimes stop moving after leaving random levels. This happens twice before the elevator actually stops on the 15th floor to pick someone else up. I scoot into a corner to let whoever it is in. To my surprise (and distress), it's the Big Man Himself, Peter's boss, the editor in chief here at the Daily Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson who walks in. Great. This is going to be awkward.

I try to not make eye contact, but JJJ is at least chivalrous enough to acknowledge another person in the elevator. "Oh, excuse me, intern. I didn't see you there," He says to me, his voice lacking the usual warm, apologetic tone people usually use when greeting one another. Jameson is a big man, who, despite his gray hair that gives off a sense of old age, looks like he could wrestle you to the ground. I try to keep my face out of view, because I really don't like having conversations with JJJ. Back when I started as a superhero, JJJ would use his newspaper to sing the praises of just about every hero but me. For me, he would use his editorials and front pages to rant about how much of a menace I was to society. Fortunately, the hate didn't last too long. Once I became an Avenger, the public eye's view softened as did The Daily Bugle's editorials (I'm pretty sure it's, like, illegal to hate an Avenger.) And even though I'm not an Avenger anymore, my good public standing has thankfully stayed. But, despite all that, I'm still very wary of him.

We spend a half-minute in silence before he takes a second glance at me and realizes who I am. "Wait. You're not one of my interns! Hello, Mrs. Stacey-Parker. I'm somewhat surprised to see you here, considering how little you ever seem to actually support your family. Every day it seems that Peter walks in with your daughter, and he still manages to be the most productive member of the DB team. What do you contribute to your families lives? While Peter works so hard, and takes care of Rachel, are you doing anything to help support your husband and daughter?"

I shrink farther into the corner I was already occupying. Suddenly,the elevator seems to shrink until I can barely fit inside anymore. "Honestly, what kind of a mother just leaves her daughter during the day, never once-Oh, here's the 29th floor. Bye, Mrs. Stacey-Parker. And, Please, rethink your life a little?" JJJ asks, still emotionless, as he leaves the compartment.

I just stand there for a second. And then I sink to the floor and feel my eyes grow hot and wet as the elevator goes up once more to the thirtieth floor. I mean, it's not like I don't struggle with being away from my family most of the time as it is. I hate being unable to really get to be around during the day to help raise Rachel. But having JJJ say it makes it so much more real, somehow.

As the elevator door opens, I stand and walk as quickly as I can to Peter's desk, avoiding the other desks and people in my way while looking down so as I don't catch anyone's eye, as mine are a bit red.

"Gwen! I was wondering when you'd get here." Peter greets me with no sense of anger at what happened this morning in his voice as I walk up to his desk where he's rocking Rachel next to his desk. He's wearing his dark blue suit and tie today. In an effort to take my mind off what happened today, I briefly flash back to when we went shopping to get it fitted for him. It helps a little. "Where do you wanna eat….Are you OK, Gwen?" Darn. He noticed. Really quickly. He gets up from his desk and comes and holds me for a second. "Hey, it's OK. It's OK. Hey, look I'm sorry about this morning. Here, let's go down to the Silver Spoon Cafe and get a quick lunch, and we can talk all about it, OK? Here, I have Rachel's stroller right here, so we can walk down there together and talk this all out." He takes Rachel out of her seat, unfolds the Stroller and carefully makes sure she's comfortable as he sits her inside. He looks at me and asks, "Do you wanna push her?" I nod, wordlessly. He hugs me again, offers me a tissue, and pushes the black and white baby stroller towards me. "Let's go, then." I take hold of the stroller, we enter back into the elevator and Peter presses DOWN.

12:30 PM- Outside The Daily Bugle Skyscraper, On 2nd St

"...And so he told me how poor of a mother I was and he ragged on me until we got to the floor he was heading for. So, yeah. In addition to our fight this morning, today I've just been a bit of an emotional wreck. So….yep. That was my morning."

By the time I finish telling Peter about the other half of my morning, I had mostly stopped being so sad. Accompanying your family to your favorite lunch place can do that to you. My eyes had stopped being red, I didn't sniffle every time I talked, and had generally calmed down.

We walk down 2nd St as we talk. There are people hustling and bustling all over the place. All kinds of people walking around, only interested in their own business. I suppose I can't blame them. I don't really want any of them interested in my business right now.

"Wow. I am sorry about him, Gwen. He means well, most of the time, but he's really good at speaking his mind, and sometimes that leads to him overstepping his boundaries a little. Sometimes, when he sees what...what _he_ thinks is an injustice, he just can't, y'know, _not_ say anything about it. It's OK, though. You know it's OK. I am completely OK, as you know, with your...Your day job. Don't worry about it." Peter quietly tells me. _Goodness._ I can tell he means every word.

"Thanks, Peter. I know how you feel about the whole thing, believe me, I do. But sometimes, it's just hard for me to keep doing this when I feel like I'm constantly reminded what I'm missing in our lives." We arrive at the Silver Spoon Cafe. Peter holds the door open for me, and I push Rachel inside. The Cafe is quiet and not very full, which is OK with me. The place is more of an acquired taste, with its retro feel and look (it was built somewhere circa the 1960's). We get in line to order, which is just a walk up to the ordering counter. We order our food (Soup for Peter, Salad for me), and Peter pulls a jar of Mixed Berry Blast (I wish my food had cool names like that) out of his Baby Care Bag for Rachel.

Once we had about finished eating for a while, Peter brings up what we're both probably dreading talking about. "But...Listen Gwen. I love you, and I always will. I don't believe you'd ever do anything to hurt Rachel or me. But….well, I will admit to feeling a bit of discomfort at waking up to you chanting in dead languages again. I know that you said you have this gut feeling that you shouldn't tell anyone, but, well, I have a gut feeling about this, too. I think someone's trying to go after you, and somehow they're going to get their shots in by getting at me or Rachel. I know you've been super careful to keep your day job under wraps, but that hasn't stopped...particularly nasty people before from figuring it all out in your line of work." He's got a point. This wouldn't be the first time a villain has been studious and creepy enough to figure out a superhero's identity before. While we continue to talk it over, I finish feeding Rachel and we head back to The Daily Bugle Building.

I kiss Rachel on her head as Peter takes the stroller back from me. I give Peter a quick peck on his cheek. He laughs, turns, and they go back to work. I stand there for a second, slightly confused by Peter's laugh. Maybe he was just amused at how I looked on my tiptoes trying to kiss him. Or maybe he was chuckling because he realized how crazy weird our life is. That's probably it. I put away the idea and hurry back to the Sanctum so I can get dressed and get back to work.

8:17 PM, That Evening- Swinging Above Lafayette St

I go swinging around for a couple hours, only to find: a) no crimes to fix, b) no enemies to stop, and c) no answers to questions that I have been debating all day. Oh well. After one last sweep around the city, I head back home to Peter and Rachel. It's already evening time, about 8 PM. The city always looks so beautiful at night, with so many lights all over the place. I look around and it still boggles my mind (admittedly, not hard to do) how huge NYC is. I stop and land on the rooftop holding the Teleportation Platform. I quickly text Peter that I'm coming as the I step onto the platform. I feel a buzz and look back up from my phone and suddenly I'm back in the Sanctum. With seemingly no one around.

"Peter? I'm home! Where are you? Is Rachel in bed? Is everything OK?" I walk on into the huge foyer looking for Peter. The foyer is huge, with large and intricate chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and the various lights giving off an almost unnatural feel to the entire building. Which, I suppose, is how Strange likes his place to be. There are weird paintings all over the place. The only one I can recognize is "The Persistence Of Memory" by Salvador Dali, but the rest of the paintings fall into a similar style. Other than that, the place is frankly quite abandoned looking, which, again, is how I assume the Good Doctor wants his place to be. It's just….It's a little empty.

My inner home decorator is interrupted when Peter finally shows up. "Hey, Gwen. Yes, Rachel is in Bed. Yeah, we're all good. I was just wondering how, you know, you're feeling."

I'm confused. "Uhhh… what do you mean? I've gotten over what JJJ said. Of course I have." Why would he still be wondering about that? I thought for sure we had gotten through that at lunch.

"No, no. I meant about … you know, the whole dreams thing? You've had them twice now, I mean, so I figured maybe now we could tell Stephen about it?" Peter asks, somewhat sheepishly.

Oh. That's what he means. "Peter, I told you. It's fine. I'm fine. We're fine. It's totally no big deal, Peter. Just...don't worry about it. You have bigger things to worry about, like your new job duties, and being safe,and your aunt and uncle, even though they don't live in this side of the country, and, of course we have to constantly worry about Rachel, and-and-"

"And you? Who's going to worry about you?" Peter suddenly interjects. "Look. Gwen." He sighs before continuing. "I knew from the moment I met you that you were adventurous. I had figured out that you preferred to be self dependent by the time I proposed to you. And after being married to you for 4 years now, I discovered that your adventurosity and self dependency sometime blinds you towards doing what's best for yourself. I mean, You always do what's best for others, of course. But sometimes you really need someone else to take care of you for you. Which is why….well, it's why I decided to tell Stephen about your dreams myself."

"You did What?!" I suddenly become very aggravated again. "Peter, I thought we had agreed this wasn't a big deal! I've been doing this superheroing thing for a long time, and I know what I need to share and what I don't! This is a Don't! It's no big deal, and now you've made it a huge deal, Peter!"

"No, Gwen, we didn't _agree_ on anything. I told you, I'm not feeling good about… well,anything that's happened to you the past three days! Telling Stephen is what we need to do right now. This'll help you! Look, I'm sorry about going ahead and telling him without your agreeing, but-" He stops and collects himself. "I knew you would never tell Stephen. I could see how adamant you were to not tell anyone else. But...I worry about you, Gwen. I know you've been doing this for a long time now, and I've only been supporting you in your endeavors for a handful of years. But….well,I think I understand this business better than you give me credit for. For some reason, all you superheroes figure that you'd be better off fighting villains by yourself. Well, let me tell you something: You're not. Most people understand that when you find something you can't handle, or explain, you don't try to keep it to yourself. You share and ask for help. That's how friends work. That's how a partnership works. That's how Marriage works. You keep an eye out for each other. You respect each other's ideas, but help out even if the other says they don't need it, because, deep down, you _know_ , in your heart of hearts, that they need you. _That's_ what you do when you love some one. You _know_ what they need, even if they don't. Or don't want to admit it. I love you, Gwen. That's why I did this. I hope I made the right decision." He pauses and turns to look at me. "Uh...Gwen? Are you OK?"

While Peter was giving the most beautiful speech this side of _Independence Day_ , I had started to feel very woozy. I laid down on the bed while he continued being the best person ever. By the time he finished, I felt like I was about to lose my lunch. _Great,_ I think to myself, _NOW what's wrong with me?_

Peter rushes over to help me. "Gwen? GWEN? What's wrong? What's happening? You look about ready to faint!" As I begin to lose consciousness, I can hear Peter take me into his arms and yell for Strange to get down here and help me. But I'm on my way out….I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my mind though. Like a fog leaving a field…

 _Why on Earth am I being so Philosophical?_ Is the last thought I have before losing it.

I'm gone.

Seconds afterwards, Gwen and Peter's Bedroom

Peter is freaking out. His wife just fainted in his arms. Obviously, this has started to worry him. She usually has very good stamina, even after a solid day of super heroing. He's screamed to Stephen to get down here, but he is only now just making his way down the stairs.

Unfortunately, it's too late. To Peter's horror, he watches on helpless while Gwen lapses into Latin incantations once more. For the final time, but this finality is not a good omen. Strange explained to him earlier when he finally told Strange what was happening to Gwen, he mentioned how many times this had happened. Strange suddenly turned still and grave. _Peter,_ he said, _under no circumstances can she fall back under. If I'm right, if she falls asleep one more time she will summon...Well, an unspeakable evil. One that will cost the two of you dearly. I need to talk to her immediately. Notify me as soon as she gets back._

But, of course Peter knew he needed to talk to Gwen first. He needed to explain what he had done first, in hopes that he could break the news softly, and explain why he did it as well. Unfortunately, his approach was either too fast or too soft. So they spiralled into another argument, one that went on too long. And while he was busy trying to vocalize his concerns in a caring way, Gwen was falling sick and unconscious again. And he couldn't stop it.

"I told you, I needed to talk to her as soon as she got back. Now you have doomed either humanity or your wife!" Strange yells at Peter, snapping him out of his thoughts. "And I bet you can guess which option she is going to choose."

"No…. NO!" With a scream, Peter releases all of his pent up anger within a word. And just as he finishes, more words create havoc. However, they are not yells but chants, as Gwen voices what Peter figures must be the last part of the "summon", as Strange called it. The room begins to shake and a fire suddenly starts in the corner as the windows burst open with a ferocious wind.

Strange looks on in horror until his eyes suddenly light up with an idea. "Except...maybe I can make it less….Bad. Maybe not fix it entirely, but not doom either…" He turns to Peter and shouts over the wind, "You stay here and protect Gwen from the Fire Guy coming out of the fire over there. I'll go help her isolate the link from her conscious and tell her my idea!" Quickly, Stephen crosses his legs, holds his arms up and connects his forefingers and thumbs, closes his eyes and begins to levitate. He is now oblivious to the outside world.

Peter was quickly becoming utterly confused. He had no idea what the fire guy was, or how Strange was going to help Gwen though she was unconscious. What he did understand, however, were the words ' **Protect Gwen** '. And he planned on doing that until things make sense again.

Even as he could hear roaring flames and a voice laughing it's evil flaming head off.

 _Thank goodness for magic room protections,_ he thought, _or otherwise we'd have to deal with Rachel too, and then we'd_ _ **all**_ _be in trouble._


	8. Chapter 6

I open my eyes. Slowly. _Where am I? What is going on?_ I sit myself up and look around. I'm in a room. A familiar room. It's my room, back home _,_ at my dad's place. It's still decorated with all my favorite movie posters;Easy A (people say I look like a blonde Emma Stone, I don't see it) _,_ Monsters, Inc _.,_ Tron: Legacy, The Truman Show _,_ This Is Spinal Tap, and Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind, amongst others. The walls are a calm shade of blue with shelves of CDs and Vinyl all cluttered about. The carpet is a creamy white, and still has the stain by the window I made when I spilled Mountain Dew when I was 13. _But… what am I doing here?_ I should be back at the Sanctum, with Peter, not at my father's place. Unless… I'm dead. That would explain why I'm here, because this would probably be the place I'd want to be for the…afterlife, I guess I'll call it, because this is where Mom would be too, I'd think. I mean, that's all I wanted after she passed: me,my mom, and my dad to be together again at our home. But then I remember what happened before I woke up here. _But…. Why would I be dead? All I did was get really sick and keel over onto the bed._ While I'm musing over my hopefully exaggerated death, the phone I have next to my bed starts to ring. _Ummmm... well, I suppose I should answer it._

I pick it up. "Hello? This is Gwen of the Stacy household speaking." I said in a accidentally snarky tone. "Who is this?" The phone is a more royal blue in contrast to the walls. It's a spin dial because that's how my dad works: he keeps things "retro", as he likes to call it.

"Hey, Gwen? This is Peter. I was just wondering...ummm well, listen." Peter's voice comes through the phone in a tinny and oddly younger-sounding voice. "Are you...Are you busy this Friday? I was wondering if...well, maybe if you'd like to go on a date with me?"

I'm a little stunned. All of a sudden, I realize where I am. This is the moment that Peter first asked me out on a date, way back when we were 17, and juniors in High School. _So that answers where I am...But why am I here?!_ I'm not necessarily complaining, it's one of my favorite memories. It's the start of mine and Peter's relationship. Realizing I'm still on the phone with Peter, I quickly and very happily accept his invitation, already knowing where it will lead. After Peter excitedly (and in an impossibly attractive fashion, I might add) lists the details for our date, I thank him for inviting me and hang up.

So. Here I am, revisiting the day 17 year old me gets her first date. I'm still not sure why I'm here but, regardless, I like it here...Suddenly the phone rings again so I reach over to pick it up once more. _Maybe it's Peter again,_ I think, even though I already know what's going to happen today.

"Hello, This is Gwen of the Stacy residence. Who is this?" I ask. But instead of 17 year old Peter Parker, I get Who-Knows-How-Old Doctor Strange.

"Hello Gwen!" He exclaims. "We need to talk. Here, prepare yourself. I'm sending myself right over." Before I can ask any questions as to what "Sending Right Over" could mean outside of Red Rover, Doctor Strange comes flying out of the phone and into my room...somehow. Again, I don't wanna ask, because the answer is probably super boring.

Instead, I just kinda roll with it. I've learned I can get a lot farther in the strangeness of the superhero world that way. "Strange, what is going on? Am I dead? Why am I back in one of my memories?"

"Ahh, right. You had just fainted. Right. Before I tell you any of that, I need to know: Have you or haven't you had any weird dreams that you can't remember anymore? And then suddenly you wake up chanting in Latin?"

 _Oh, no. Not This again,_ I think to myself. "Yes, I have. They're really creepy and I would love it if you could help me stop them." _Wait._ I look up at Strange, who's actually smiling back, looking quite pleased (whether with himself or me, I don't know). "Did I-Did I just actually tell you about-about….?" I did it. I actually did it. How could I do this?! I swore to myself I wouldn't tell anyone because...because...now that I'm thinking about it, I can't seem to recall the reason why I didn't want to tell anyone. "OK, Strange. What on EARTH is going on?!"

"It's quite incredible, if I do say so myself. I'm just mad I didn't realize it sooner. You may have noticed that we're in what must be one of your favorite memories. When you were knocked out again, since your love for Peter was fighting Dormammu's control over you-"

I quickly interrupt. "Wait, WHAT? Dormammu's CONTROL over me? What on earth are you jabbering about?!" I'm more confused than I was that one time when Peter tried to explain to me how photos develop.

"Ah. Right. Um...well, you see...look, this is something you should sit down for. You have all the rights to know by now, since I'm going to have to destroy the fake ones anyways. It's time for a bit of a story, I suppose," He says, his triumphant smile becoming a regretful frown.

I'm scared to hear this story. 'Destroy the fake ones'? What does he mean? Fortunately, I'm also very curious as to what he has to say, so I sit down and listen.

"A long time ago, Dormammu, an ancient, near omnipotent, fire demon, attacked this earth. I, as Sorcerer Supreme, was tasked and determined to stop him from destroying the world. At my side were The Avengers, you included. We had all teamed up to fight Dormammu because, well, that's what we did. We teamed up so we could avenge. I figured that having more people to attack him with would be wise, since I knew Dormammu could take control of people with psychic and precognitive abilities. How he learned this, I haven't learned, but it was presumably through Trial And Error."

Strange pauses long enough for me to raise my hand to ask a question. He doesn't call on me for my question, though, he just assumes he knows what I was going to ask. "How might he figure it out through 'trial and error', you ask? Well, if you had ever actually paid attention during one of my admittedly few magic lectures, you would know. Alas, it is too large a subject to go over here, so…let's leave it at 'there other heroes on other Earths'." He drops that bombshell with an absurd air of nonchalance and continues.

"I figured that with more people to focus on combatting, Dormammu wouldn't be able to take control of anyone, as he had with a friend of mine named Mordo, in a previous battle. We ran into battle, as I flew ahead to strike the first blow. But while I fought Dormammu, have still managed to take control over an Avenger: you. He forced you to fight the other Avengers. You won. You defeated them all. Once you had finished with them, you started coming for me. Fortunately, I stopped Dormammu and severed his control over you, but the damage was done. You had fought The Avengers, all by yourself, and won. The greatest superhero team of all time, defeated. I knew something had to be done, or you would be put into exile by the team for being too large of a threat. They have been known to do that, what with Hulk, or Thor, or The Sentry."

I take a moment think about what Strange is saying. "Yeah, but I'm way nicer than they are. All those other guys are super strong and powerful. Why would they be so worried about me?"

"Well, they would not have been so worried as upset that they were all defeated by one person, and that one person being a member at that time. As for myself, well… as I may have mentioned, I've fought Dormammu many a time. I knew that he could exert his control over people through their psychic and precognitive abilities. I also knew, through my friend, that once he puts his control on someone, a little piece of it stays in someone, waiting to be reactivated. Without it being fully removed, the piece grows until Dormammu can use the person to summon him back to Earth. That is what happened to my friend...Dormammu consumed him. I tried as hard as I could to stop him, to remove Dormammu's power over him, but...I have still not found a solution….Perhaps, until now." He smiles again. "You see, I-"

But I interrupt him. I need more answers. "Well, that's all well and dandy, but WHY CAN I NOT REMEMBER THIS?! Answer THAT!" And once again, Strange's smile disappears, replaced with a furrowed brow. Maybe I should stop yelling at Strange. It's so rare that he smiles at all.

"Yes. About that. I was going to...well, that needs no mentioning now. I knew I could not let Dormammu back. He had ruined our city; if he came back, he could ruin the world. Unfortunately, I still had no knowledge of a solution to remove the sliver. But then I thought, what if you had no memory of ever being under Dormammu's control? Would he be able to contact any one who doesn't remember being under his influence? I reasoned that he would not be able to do as such. So...well, to protect you and your teammates, I erased yours and their own memories of the event, and replaced them with fake ones. Ones that said you left the Avengers because Iron Man was giving you too much trouble, and you couldn't take it anymore. You then came to live with me because I was offering room, and you wanted a space for you and your fiance to live that wasn't either of your parents' houses. But that too was fake; I created those ones so I could keep an eye on you in case you ever did come back under Dormammu's control." He pauses and looks up at me. "But, I'm afraid it may not have worked entirely. It ould appear that he still managed to exploit your link."

I try to take this in as well as possible. I'm in shock, obviously. After using a couple more seconds to take it in, I ask Strange, very quietly, "Why on Earth would you think this was a good idea?"

He looks taken aback. I don't wait for him to answer. "First off, that is such a dumb reason for me to leave the Avengers. Why I didn't think to myself about how dumb an idea that is, I don't know. Did you have something to do with why I didn't question it? Never mind, I don't wanna know.. Second, how COULD YOU?! I get that you wanted to protect me from being taken over by this creep, but still! This is INSANE! How can you even THINK about doing this to someone? I just-I just…" I lay down on my memory bed and throw my hands out in exasperation. I whisper, just barely audible, to Stephen, "Does this mean Peter never actually proposed to me?" Peter proposed the night before I decided to quit the Avengers- Or, I guess, before I went and fought the Avengers.

Doctor Strange immediately realize what I was asking. "No! No, of course not. I only rewrote what I had to. None of the happy things that happened to you where touched by me. Don't worry, I only changed things that dealt with your fight with the Avengers and Dormammu. ….."

"Strange, this absolutely insane. I'm relieved that my relationship with Peter is all real. But still...I don't know. I feel like my entire world flipped. I know that's cliche, but… it's really the best phrase I can think of to describe right now." I decide to change the subject so I can think about something else for a moment.

"So why am I here in my memories? Why are YOU here in my memories?" Honesty, at this point I'll talk about anything. Fortunately, this actually has been bothering me ever since he showed up.

"Ah, yes." Strange seems as happy to avoid talking much about the ethics of memory wipage as I am. "You see, before I explained that...unfortunate business to you, you may remember my mentioning of of solving the problem of your sliver of Dormammu's control. As you may remember, after you fought with Peter again, you fainted. Peter called me as soon as you lost it. As he described what had happened to you, I had an idea. It seems that Dormammu has grown strong enough to exploit in you his link, causing you to deny anyone who asked about your dreams, which were also caused by him. But, I figure-"

I cut Strange off again. He is way too confusing to understand without subtitles and a translator. "Wait a second. Are you saying that Dormammu's 'link' is what caused me to have the weirdo dreams and the latin speaking? And why I couldn't remember anything afterwards? Is that why I've been having so many arguments with my husband?"

He gives me a look that says 'Haven't You Been Paying Attention?'. "In a way," he responds. "Dormammu can't influence you that well if he's not here and you're not unconscious. So, the Latin chanting, yes that was him trying to get you to summon him. With your dreams, he had you forget them so you wouldn't have a good idea as to why the Latin chanting. But he didn't have a huge hand in your fights. Rather, he simply planted the idea that you shouldn't tell anyone and your personality and subconsciousness took care of the rest. He basically used you against you."

I fall back onto the bed and throw my hands out in exasperation. "My life is _so_ stupid." So I don't have anything to blame then. _Just me._

"Yes, well that might be the case now, but as I was saying, I may have found a way to solve your problem. After Peter told me this morning what had been happening to you, I figured out that Dormammu had finally started to reactivate your link. But I thought that maybe, if I shoved your consciousness into a good memory, you'd be loose from his bonds momentarily. As evidenced by the fact that you could tell me what had been happening when I asked, it's clear his idea that he planted had no hold on you when you're not physically awake." He explains. Kind of.

"Well, if I'm free from it right now because I'm not awake, how come he's exerted the most control when I'm asleep? That doesn't make any sense." This is so overwhelming. I'm so scared what this could mean for my family...My friends.. My home…

"Because when you just go to bed, or faint, you surrender yourself to sleep, and that's when your mental defenses are easiest to get through to. Fortunately, Peter got me quickly enough that I could isolate you in this memory before Dormammu could connect to you and have you finish the summon."

"Ummm...I suppose that makes sense...in some really absurd way. Whatever. The real question still stands: How am I going to fix this? How do we stop Dormammu? Do you have a way to completely destroy his link without completely destroying me?" Someone has to keep this conversation on track. And knowing Strange….Huh. _Do_ I know Stephen Strange? How much of my memory of him is fake? _Focus, Gwen,_ I tell myself. _That's not important right now. The fate of the universe is._

"See...Here comes some bad news. It would be something that could be really bad. It would involve you giving up something very close to you and having to make a tough choice. In fact, it's probably best I wake you back up so you can discuss it with your husband while you still can." Strange has such a morbid air about him. Today is just going from bad to worse.

"Ummm. OK. That was unnecessarily vague and foreboding," I respond. "But OK. Let's go….." A sudden idea pops into my head (Except is it really right to refer to it as my head if I'm already in my head? Hm.) "Hey Strange? You said this is one of my memories? Is it fully, like, explorable and interactive?"

He instantly understands what I want to do. "Ah. Yes, it's the least I can do after dropping all this on you. You know where she is. Go ahead. I'll wait for you."

I rush down the stairs and almost knock someone off their feet.

It just happens to be the exact person I was looking for, someone I haven't seen in 3 years.

It's my mom.


	9. Interlude II

"Oh! Gwen, honey, darling, sweetie. What's the rush?"

And just like that, I feel like I'm seventeen again. Back at home. Back with my parents. Back when things were looking up instead of crazy 'really bad things' and 'tough choices' happening every single day.

"What's wrong? Gwen, are you OK? Shouldn't you be, you know, _working?_ It is Saturday, which means no school, so…"

"Uhhhhh ...Oh! Right." I forgot momentarily that my parents already know about my superheroing. "Oh, umm...maybe I will in a bit. Peter just called me, so I got a little busy…"

She smiles. "Oh, I see. That Peter boy is cute one, Gwen." I turn red, even though I'm now MARRIED to the Peter boy. _Goodness, my memory is weird. I still look 26 but act like I'm 17 again. Whatever, keep it together, Gwen._

I laugh, trying to keep the...emotions, whatever they may be, out of my voice. "Yeah, he just asked me out on a date, but that's not important right now. Can we, y'know, talk?" _Like she'd say no._

"Oh! Um...sure. I'm not doing much right now. Anything for you," she says, her look of astonishment morphing into s look of comfort. We move further into the house and sit down in our living room. The room is fairly large, with wood floor covered with a blue rug, like lake surrounded by land (there's a lot of blue here). The walls are a sky blue with paintings by Van Gogh, Dali, and 5 year old me hang around the room like clouds. There's two couches on the room, one leather, one blue upholstery. There's a coffee table in the middle of the room, which I love sitting on.

"So what do you want to talk about? Is it Peter? Don't worry, I was like you as a teenager. Boys are super weird, but I think-"

"Mommmmmm! Honestly, I'm twenty six! No, that's not …. that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. If…. If… you had to do something; if you had to sacrifice something that meant a lot to you, but maybe you could save the _people_ that meant a lot to you…. would you do it?" I sit down on the table across from mom, who's on the leather couch.

She leans back a bit into her seat, forming a 5' 6" mother sized indent into the fabric. "Well… I suppose, if you really love these… people, what other choice can you make? You love them, and want them to live, right?"

"Well, yeah, I mean, of course I do." I'm still a little stunned talking to her. It's so unreal (which, I suppose it is anyways, but let's not ruin the moment).

"Well, then, the best thing you can do is save them. Sacrifice is one of the most powerful ways we show we love and care about other people. I mean, sure, you could lose something important to you, but would you rather live life without those people? I know I couldn't live without you or your father. I love the two of you too much."

And here is where I start to lose it. I can't believe this. It just hits me how much I do miss her. How helpful she's always been. And I cry.

My mom suddenly looks surprised, which is fair, considering my sudden out break in tears. She puts her hands on my leg in comfort. "Hey! Hey. Hey. Was that not what you wanted to hear?"

But I shake my head. "No, it's exactly what I needed to hear," I say, hiccuping through sobs. "It's just... It's just… I miss you Mom. Both me and dad do."

I assume, because she doesn't immediately ask what I'm talking about, since she's made of my own memories, she already knew she had passed away. She smiles sadly. "I can only imagine. I would be just as upset as you were. But, you managed. You have a beautiful baby girl at home, and a loving and caring husband. I know you would do anything for those two. You're a strong person, with a large, loving heart. You'll be OK. You'll make the right decision, and save the people you love. I love you, Gwen."

I hug her and whisper, "I love you too, mom. Thank you." We embrace each other for a couple minutes longer. It's not as long as I want, but it's definitely what I needed.

I lightly step up the wood stairs, running my hand over the bannister as I move. I walk down the bare hallways, passing my parents room and the guest room, and head back into my old room.

Strange is floating off the ground meditating. When he hears me come in, he opens his eyes and stands up. "Are we all good then?" he asks, his eyebrow arched inquiringly.

"Yeah… I think so. One question before we go. How…. Real, I guess….was that? I mean, I know I didn't just speak to my mom from beyond the grave, obviously, but...I dunno… I'm not sure what I'm asking…" I trail off, unsure of what I want to know anymore.

Once again, though, Strange does know exactly what I want to ask (it's almost like he's in my head or something). "Actually Gwen...That was really your mom. I used a bit of hocus pocus to get her here, but I figured…. I owe ya one after all the….things.. I've done to you."

I look at the man who has put me through all this trouble in the name of the universe's safety. But then I think about this simple act he did for me. Maybe I can forgive him….

"So, what's this bad thing that I may have to sacrifice for in order to stop?" I ask, wanting to know already.

"Ah right. Back to that. Well...In order to stop Dormammu, you may have to give up your….your powers."

And then I wake up.


	10. Chapter 7

I bolt upright as I wake up. As soon as I do, I wake to find Peter hugging me, very tightly. It's comforting in the face of what I have to do now.

He's about to pull back once he notices I'm awake again, but I hold him back. "Not...not yet." We embrace for a bit longer, because I'm not ready.

"What happened to you, Gwen? Stephen went all floating meditative as soon as I explained what had happened to you, so I've just been waiting for you to come back, hoping you're not in trouble. ...Are you in trouble?" He suddenly looks at me, trying to mask his fear. I can see it though. He can't really hide his emotions from me anymore.

"Well. Strange told me that...that….that…" I can't even get it out. My abilities and responsibilities have been such a huge part of me for almost ten years. I mean, sure, they're given me trouble, and caused bad things, but I've been able to help so many, too.

"What? What did he say? What's wrong? Why are you so shaken? What IS IT?" He's thoroughly scared now, not even trying to hide it. I can hear it in his voice. I keep my head buried in his shoulder.

This happens to be the exact moment that Doctor Strange gets up as well. "Ah good. Glad to see you got here safely, Gwen. I was just a tiny bit worried I'd have to fight Flame Guy over there by myself."

I snap to attention. "WHAT?!" I take my face out of Peter's shoulder and look over in the corner of our room. Sure enough, there is indeed a Fire Guy standing there. One I know.

"Dormammu. Why have you come here?" I ask, even though I already know the answer. Peter looks at me with a strange look, saying _You Know This Guy?_

Dormammu turns and faces me, a scowl replacing his maniacal smile. "Ah. So Strange managed to get you to admit what was happening to you. Fine. Well, he clearly didn't get rid of my connection to this wondrous world, since you're still alive and quicking, so that works just fine for me."

"Yeah, well, there'll be a lot of kicking, so get ready for that," I say menacingly as possible. It's kind of hard to do so when you're facing down an evil Fire Demon who made you the reason for this whole mess. As I'm talking he looks behind me and smiles maliciously. "Ah. The Sorcerer Supreme. I'm glad to see you could join us too."

I turn around to see Strange, awake and ready to go. "Give it up, Dormammu," He yells, pulling off the menace way better than I did. "I know you're not at your full power yet. You're still only human sized. We can take you down." Oh, good. I was wondering when he was going to get up to help.

"Maybe. But nothing can keep me from coming back tomorrow. Or the next day. Or the next. As long as Spider-Woman is alive, I can always return!"

Strange glances at me, I nod. He nods back and says, in a remarkably boss way, "That's what we're hoping for."

I quickly tell Peter to stay right where he is and spring into action, throwing myself at Dormammu. His momentary surprise allows me to land a hit (without burning myself somehow) before he grabs me and throws me back at the wall. I go flying and hit it hard. _Ow….that hurt._

Dormammu thinks this is all great fun and lets loose a maniacal laugh. "You cannot honestly think that the two of you can defeat me? You know the only way to cast me out is to destroy Spider-Woman! She's the link here! Even though I can't control her, I can still fight both of you easily! You remember what you had to do to stop Mordo,and I don't think you'll do it to your friend here. It's impo-"

I spring at Dormammu again and hit him in the face. Immediately afterwards, I try to throw myself away from him before he can get me. It doesn't work, though, and he grabs me by the throat (still not burning me though. How does his fire work?).

As I choke, Stephen gets up from where he was floating, having been trying to set up the spell to stop Dormammu. Of course, he tries to help me with some magic but it only impedes Dormammu momentarily because he's too focused on the plan. "I remember what I had to do to Mordo," he says while still focused on his part of the plan. "And no, I won't do that again. He was my friend, and so is she. But I know you won't kill her. She's your link to this world. She goes, you go. We're the ones in control here." Dormammu looks at Strange, then me, in disgust and throws me at the wall again. Surprise: walls are still very hard.

Strange does his best to stay calm, hoping I can distract him for a couple more minutes. We both know that while Dormammu may not be able to kill me, he can still destroy the Doctor. We're hoping he won't realize this soon.

Peter is doing his best to stay calm as well. He's not doing a great job of it. "GWEN! Strange, he have to help her! We can't just stay here and not do anything!" Peter's about to head in between me and Dormammu, until I yell at him to stay where he was. I know what I'm doing. I pick myself back up off the ground.

"Gwen! Gwen," Stephen yells at me. "I'm ready to do this. Are you ready?!"

I grit my teeth and shout back, "Yeah, let's do this!" I run up to Dormammu again and throw a punch. He catches it in his hand and squeezes. Hard. He picks me up by my hand and lifts me off the ground. Perfect. He's focused on me.

"You all are so amazingly ill advised right now. You CANNOT win without your death, silly Spider-Woman! There is no way you can stop me in the time it will take for me to gain my full power back. And then I can destroy both of you and find someone new to be my link to this world and conquer it!" Dormammu once again releases a huge laugh.

I grimace and look at him. "That's where you're kinda wrong. The death of Spider-Gwen is the only way to be rid of you before you gain full power, that much is true. But I don't think that means exactly what you think it means. Oh well. NOW, STEPHEN!" I shout preparing what Strange is about to do to me.

As Dormammu looks on in confusion, Doctor Strange shouts the final castings for his spell. As soon as he finishes, Dormammu drops me as both he and I begin to writhe in pain. I can feel my energies leaving my body. I can hear Dormammu yell and curse at us as he is drawn back into his portal, his link being severed. And then, suddenly: Silence.

It worked. He's gone.

Spider-Woman is dead.


	11. Postlude

Peter runs over to me and shakes me before I pass out (I've been doing that a lot recently). "GWEN! Gwen! Are you OK?! What happened? How on earth did you get rid of him? I thought both Dormammu and Strange said the only way to get rid of him was to kill Spider-Woman! But you're still here, so...What happened?! Not that I'm complaining, but, Still-"

I prop myself up and kiss him before he can say anymore. I'm just so glad this is all over, no matter what the price was. "I love you, Peter Parker. I hope you know that." He just nods as he starts to tear up. "Don't worry, I'm not dying. But Spider-Woman is dead. I sacrificed her to save you and Rachel."

Peter just looks confused so I explain what Stephen had explained to me. "While Strange had been 'Out' the past few days, he had studied other cases of Dormammu taking control of heroes. As he studied, he realized that his control was not necessarily connected through their mind, but specifically their abilities. So he theorized, well…" I start to cry a bit here too. It's kind of crazy to think about all that's happened the past week.

Peter realizes what Strange and I have done. "So...So….you..you don't have your abilities anymore? That's how you got rid of Dormammu? Gwen….I-I-I don't know what to say. I mean, your powers...Those have been a part of who you are for years now. And you sacrificed it for me and Rachel?"

I would've laughed if I felt up to it at all. As it was, I could barely speak. "Of course I did. I love you guys, and I had to save you guys. What other choice did I have?" I answer, thinking back to what my mom said to me.

Peter pulls me in closer. And we sit there, for a fair amount of time.

Until Strange walks up. "Wow. We actually did it. We actually managed to banish Dormammu without killing anyone. He won't be coming back any time soon, thank goodness." He stops and looks at me. "How're you feeling? That was a great sacrifice you made for all of us here. I personally thank you and apologize for... Well, all that I've put you through." Peter shoots me another questioning glance, but I just tell him 'I'll explain later' under my breath.

"It's...It's OK, Doctor. I'm just glad it's all over now. I mean….well you did what you had to, I guess. It's over. That's the important part." Suddenly, Rachel's crying voice comes through our baby radio (that somehow did not get destroyed in the battle. I suppose it was kinda small as far as battles between interdimensional beings go). I look at Peter, he looks at me, and we just laugh as he helps me up. I can barely stand, so Peter and Strange both help me walk to Rachel's bedroom.

After they securely have both my arms around their shoulders, Peter asks the question that both of us are thinking. "So..what happens now? Do we stay here? Are you going to get a job? What do we do?"

We enter the room and I take my arms from around Strange's shoulder as Peter and I walk to Rachel's crib and I pick her up. "I think...I think I'll take care of this little girl. I think….I think our daughter needs to see her mother more." I turn to Peter and smile. "You've had your turn. I wanna spend time with Rachel now." Peter puts his arms around both me and Rachel and whispers, "I like that idea."

The night leaves as the sun rises through the window.


	12. Epilogue

3 Years, 6 Months Later: Rachel's 5th Birthday- Captain Stacy's House, Two Blocks Down From The Parker Family's Apartment

Carrying a cake two blocks is harder than one would think. But I manage to make it to my dad's house for the celebrations.

I walk in the door without knocking, knowing that my dad's expecting me and he unlocks the door when he's expecting someone.

The smell of oatmeal cookies hits me as soon as I enter. I smile. I've begun to assume, from the few times Peter's aunt and uncle have visited us, that this is what a grandmother's house smells like (both pairs of my grandparents had passed away by the time I was 8. I don't really remember meeting either very well). I told Aunt May that we didn't need cookies AND cake in one day, but she insisted. I'm pretty sure she would've gone ahead and made them anyways. Peter is already here with Rachel; as are his Aunt May and Uncle Ben (they came up from their house in Nevada), as well as my dad, who managed to get the day off. They've been waiting for me to show up with the cake I've spent all morning making (I've really cultivated my baking skills in the past couple years). The chocolate cake is covered in white and pink frosting, with red and blue sprinkles all over.

I've spent all day thinking about what has happened since I had Rachel. It's been a crazy ride. I lost my spider powers, but gained a better connection to my family. Since that night over three years ago, so much has changed. We moved out of the Sanctum Sanctorum, since we had no reason to stay (and it all kind of still held memories of those days before Dormammu struck). I will admit, I was sad to say goodbye, even though the reasons I lived there were manufactured by the man who I was saying goodbye to. But it's still the place Peter and I lived in early on in our lives together; it's the house we raised Rachel at after she was born. But we still decided to move out, down to a house just a bit away from my dad's place. And we've stayed there since, living a quiet, _normal,_ life. Sometimes I miss it. The rush of the air through my mask. The thrill of the fight. The feeling of invincibility.

But, then I think about Rachel. Peter and I raised her together. It wasn't a one person job like it would've been if I was still Spider-Woman. I mean, now she's 5, and starts school soon, so she'll be gone for about the same amount of time Peter is now. But for the past couple years, I've gotten to see her grow, and that's not an experience I wouldn't trade for anything.

I walk in the kitchen as everyone begins to sing 'Happy Birthday' to Rachel while she just beams at all of us with her tiny huge smile. All of us smile back just as brightly.

Once we finish singing, I slice the cake and serve it up on plates. As Rachel's grandparents (well, parent and aunt and uncle) dote on her, Peter and I move back a bit and talk.

"Hey," I greet him quietly so we don't distract Rachel from the dotage going on in front of her.

"Hey," he whispers back.

"I can't believe she's five already. She's going to be going to school now! What am I going to do without you or her at home? I'll have nothing to do!" I exclaim very quietly, already thinking about all the things I can take care of while not having anyone to else at home. _Maybe I'll actually get a nap in once in awhile..._

Peter smirks. "I'm sure you'll think of something. You're pretty restless." _Pretty Restless. What an understatement._ I snort and then blush at making such a loud noise. Peter just laughs. "Speaking of restless, I noticed you got up at, like, 3 this morning and didn't come back for an hour. You OK?"

"Umm...well. I don't know, exactly. I felt a little like-like...well, I woke up this morning because I had a dream." Peter's expression instantly sours with memories of the last time I had strange dreams.

"No, no, it's not like that, I think. I remember this one. I dreamt about...I dreamt about the day the Spider bit me. And when I woke up, I felt EXACTLY like I did when my powers first manifested. That pained, tired feeling all over….Anyways, that's why I got up last night."

Peter looks kind of shocked. "You don't….You don't think…..I mean, we've found that when dreams happen, they can be kinda...foreboding."

"Yeah….I don't know. I don't think this is something bad. Maybe-"

Suddenly, Peter swings at me. He doesn't connect though, because as soon as he moves, a ringing goes off in my head and in an instant I throw up my hand and catch his fist.

We both look at each other in shock. For a moment, the only sounds in the room are Rachel and her grandparents. Slowly, a smile spreads across his face. "Gwen. Honey. Do you have something to tell me?"

Realization dawns on me. "Yeah, about that." I grin right back. "I'm Spider-Woman."

THE END….for now.


End file.
